The Mayor of the West Midlands is a
directly elected political post who chairs the
West Midlands Combined Authority, covering the
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
metropolitan area and
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
.
The first election took place on Thursday 4 May 2017.
Andy Street, the inaugural Mayor, was originally due to hold office for three years, with the second election for the post taking place in May 2020.
This election was delayed for a year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, so the inaugural mayoral term was extended by a year, with the second term length being reduced to three years between 2021 and 2024. The Mayor's term of office will return to four years from 2024 thereafter.
Powers and functions
Homes and Land
The Mayor has devolved compulsory purchase powers, and is responsible for the West Midlands
spatial framework and land commission.
Transport
The Mayor is responsible for franchised bus services, allowing for standardised fares and branding on all bus services in the county, similar to how
London's bus network operates. The Mayor is also responsible for the West Midlands Key Route Network, which is managed by
Transport for West Midlands on behalf of the Mayor.
Devolution
The Mayor is responsible for ensuring that the first devolution deal is put into action and acts on behalf of the region in negotiating future devolution deals with central government.
List of mayors
References
{{Directly elected mayors in the United Kingdom
Local government in the West Midlands (county)
West Midlands